We noticed for the first time today that popular 9th Street bar and live music venue DC9 has totally redesigned its web site. The previous iteration looked a lot like the sites of sister venues Rock and Roll Hotel and The Red and the Black, but now, it’s got a cleaner, easier-to-read layout, which booking manager Steve Lambert said was meant to “focus more on the artists and events we have coming through.” The change is certainly welcome by those of us who regularly consult the web site to discover what shows have been added to the schedule, but we’ll admit the all-white background and Facebook-esque aesthetics are slightly jarring when considering the actual dark ambiance of the bar. We’ll also kinda miss seeing bartender and RnR manager KT Robeson’s smiling face every time we land on the home page.

In related news, The Red and the Black‘s web site is totally down today, which Lambert blames solely on “tech issues” — it’s not being redesigned too, in other words. The url is currently pointing to a Go Daddy placeholder, which is the sort of thing that usually happens when you forget to renew your registration.